TAKING BLAME

10 years ago

Bernanke's Mea Culpa

The latest from the "Better late than never" category: Ben Bernanke has said that the methods of managing the financial system need "an overhaul." Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Federal Reserve chairman said, "Strong and effective regulation and supervision of banking institutions, although necessary... are not sufficient by themselves to achieve this aim," indicating that a broader change in culture at the Fed is necessary. Bernanke also called for the creation of a new government body geared toward risk management that would detect potential disasters like the housing bubble before they burst. And in a statement sure to elate anchors at CNBC, he called for "especially close" supervision of large companies like Citigroup and AIG that are often called "too big to fail." Bernanke's optimistic remarks were greeted very favorably on Wall Street, where the Dow rose over 300 points at one point early this afternoon.